Connecticut Could Boast Two NCAA Champs In Same Week

The state of Connecticut has an opportunity to boast two NCAA Division I national championships in just one week.

On Monday, UConn secured its fifth men’s basketball title in program history, solidifying its status as a bonafide college blue blood. Only UCLA, Kentucky, and North Carolina have more championships.

Five days later, No. 2 Quinnipiac will take on No. 1 Minnesota in the D-I men’s ice hockey championship, the Frozen Four. 

The game, which will take place in Tampa, Florida, on Saturday night, gives the Bobcats a chance to earn their first championship banner. They’ve appeared in two other national title games in program history, but never won.

Quinnipiac’s campus in Hamden is just a short drive from UConn’s campus in Storrs — but the two schools couldn’t be more different. Quinnipiac is a small, private college with an undergraduate enrollment of about 6,000, while UConn is a sprawling public university with more than 18,000 students.

This Close to Three

In many years, the UConn women’s basketball program would have also been on the state’s list for championship contenders. The Huskies are tied with the UCLA men’s basketball team for the most NCAA championships in D-I basketball history, with 11. 

The team lost this year during the Sweet 16 — the first time in 16 years that they didn’t make it to the Elite 8. 

They reached the title game last year but fell to the South Carolina Gamecocks. UConn last won a women’s basketball championship in 2016.